Work support for articles of furniture



Aug. 9, 1 F LLEN WORK SUPPORT FOR ARTICLES OF FURNITURE Filed June 1,1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 9, 1932.

R. F. BULLEN WORK SUPPORT FOR ARTICLES OF FURNITURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed June 1, 1929 Patented Aug. 9, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICERALPH I. BULL, O1 JAMESTOWN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO ART METAL CONSTRUC-TION COMIPANY, OI JAMES'IOWN, NEW YORK -WOBI SUPPORT 1'03 ARTICLES OFFURNITURE Application fled June 1, 1929. Serial No. 867,775.

This invention relates-to improvements in articles of furniture, andmore articularly to slides or elements which can e moved to a positionextending out of said article of 5 furniture for use as a work support.

In articles of furniture such as desks, there have heretofore beenprovided slides or elements of this character which when drawn out to anoperative position, can be used as a work support or rest forstenographers note books and other objects. Such rests, however, serveno further purpose, being usually composed of a slab or plate of wood,or in some instances are made of sheet metal I formed to produce a flatrigid top surface.

An object of the present invention is to provide an article of furniturehaving an improved and novel work support.

Another object is to provide a work suport which is movable into and outof a guide m an article of furniture, and which is preferably made ofsheet metal and the interior ofwhich can be used as a receptacle forarti cles, and which is provided with a part which 2 normally closessaid receptacle to serve as a flat work support when the slide is drawnout.

Other objects of this invention are to construct a slide of thischaracter which, when moved outwardly of its guide, can be used eitheras a substantially horizontal work support or as an inclined or uprightcopy support; also to provide said article of furniture and said slidewithcooperating parts whereby the slide can be moved to a definiteoutward position such that a part of said slide can be raised to form acopy support and which in such position will be firmly supported; alsoto provide a slide or work support of tray-like form having walls orpartitions separating the same into a plurality of compartments, and acover or member, which when the cover is resting upon the body of theslide, acts as a work support and is braced by said partitions againstbuckling.

It has become established practice to form the wood slides or worksupports of desks of an approximately standard or uniform thickness, anda further object of the inventionis to provide a slide having all of theforegoing advantages, and which can be constructed of sheet metal, so asto thereby retain said features in a slide of normal or standardthicknciass while having requisite strength and rigi ity.

Other objects are to improve slides or work supports in the otherrespects hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a portion of an article of furnitureprovided with my improved slide or work support showing the coverthereof raised to copy holding or supporting position;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the work support showing adjacentportions of the article of furniture in broken lines, and the cover ofthe work support raised to copyholding position;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the work support removed from its guideand with the cover in its lower position;

Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional elevations, on an enlarged scale, showingtwo diiferent positions of the work support with reference to an articleof furniture; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse cross section of the worksupport on line 6-6, Fig. 3.

Work supports or slides constructed in accordance with this inventioncan be used with different articles of furniture, but in the embodimentof the invention illustrated the work support or slide is shown inconnection with a desk in which the slide is arranged to slide in andout of grooves in one of the desk pedestals immediately beneath the desktop.

In the portion of the desk illustrated in the drawings, A is the flatdesk top, the front edge 10 of which overhangs the front of a pedestal Bof usual form, and which latter is provided with horizontal rearwardlyextending guides 11 in which the work support C is slidably arranged.Beneath the work support C is a transverse stationary part 12 which inthe present instance is a strike bar for a drawer, not shown.

In the particular embodiment of the invention shown, the slide or worksupport C includes a sheet metal body member 14 of shallow rectangulartray-like form having a bottom wall 15, opposite parallel side walls 16,and front and back walls 17 and 18 respectively. Extending transverselyacross the tra or body 14 intermediate of its front and baclx walls 17and 18 is a bridge or member 20 having a horizontal top flange 21, tothe front edge of which a cover member 22 is pivotally connected by ahinge 23. This cover member, as shown, is in the form of a substantiallyflat metal sheet provided with opposite parallel side flanges or walls26 and. a transverse end wall 27.

When the work su port or slide C is in its inoperative rearwar positionin its guides 11, the cover member 22 lies flatwise upon the tray member14 with its side walls 26 and front wall 27 extending downwardly aboutthe walls 16 and 17 of said tray or body member, as shown in Fi 3 and 5.If the slide or work support C is moved outwardly in its guides to aosition in which the cover 22 is exposed, see ig. 5, the flat outer faceof the cover then forms or provides a nonobstructed flat work support orsurface.

Preferably the interior of the tray or body member 14 is divided into aplurality of compartments 30 by means of upright partitions 35, seeFigs. 2 and 4.

preferably provided for firmly and releasably holding the work or copyon the face 32 31, the upper ed es of these partitions 31 preferablyexten in the same plane as the corres onding upper edges of the sidewalls 16 an front walls 17 of the tray, so that when the cover is in itsnormallower position as just described, its inner face 32 engages thetop ed es of the artitions 31 as well as with the si eg'walls o thetray. In this way the cover is prevented from buckling from downwardpressure upon its outer face when in use.

When the work support or slide C is drawn outwardly as described, thecover 22 can be swung on its hinge 23 to a substantially up rightposition in which it is available for use as a copy support. See Figs.1, 2, and 4. When in this position the inner face 32 of the cover 22faces forwardly and forms a backing against which sheets and other copyor matter can lie in a convenient position for use. Preferably a rest isrovided against which the bottom edges of t e cop can rest, so as to bemaintained in an order y manner and be prevented from slipping into thetray. In the construction shown, that portion 34 of the h' e 23 which isconnected to the cover is utilize for this purpose, being extendedsubstantially across the cover with its outer straight edge formin anabutment or rest uitable means are also of the cover and against therest 35, such for example, as a spring clip or bar 36. This bar 36 maybe mounted on the ends of springs 37 which are coiled about the pin 38of the hinge 23 and act to urge the bar towards the face 32 of thecover. The bar bears against the part 340i the hinge 23 with its freeedge projecting above the so as to engathe co y. Any other suitablemeans may'fi providhd for this purpose.

Anysuitable means may be provided for maintaining the cover in u rightposition when the cover 22 is to be use port.

The tray or bod 14 is provided with a latch or detent 40 w 'ch isloosely pivoted on a bracket 41 within the tray at the rear of themember 20 and has its forward end dependin through a hole or slot 42 inthe bottom w of the tra so that when the latter is moved outward y, saiddetent 40 will engage the strike bar or abutment 12 and arrest t emovement of the tray in proper position for use as a work support andprevent it from being accidentally withdrawn entirely from its guides,see F 4. Preferably the detent 40 is also utilize to so position theslide C that when the cover 22 is raised for use as a copy support, thelatter will swing backwardly against and be arrested and supported by apart of the article of furniture, as for example, the front edge 10 ofthe desk top A.

The cover 22 is thus held at a convenient angle to enable the copy orwork to be readily viewed.

Other suitable means, however, could be provided for supporting thecover 22 in its upright position.

The novel sheet metal slide or work support enables desks or otherarticles of furniture to be provided with more eflicient and usefulslides than those heretofore employed, at sli ht additional cost. Theslide is practical, and serves as a work support in the ordinary way,and in addition provides 'space or storage for small articles, such asclips, pens and the like, as well as enabling the cover to serve as acopy support; thus eliminating many separate receptacles, and a separatecopy support.

It will be ap )arent from the drawingsand the foregoing description thatby makin the slide of sheet metal it can be formedo the thickness of theordinary slides now in use, and that its usefulness is greatlyincreased. At the same time the nary strength and rigidity is impartedto the slide by the narrow upright side and end walls and partitions.These elements also reinforce the cover or work support in itshorizontal operative position, while said support is stiffened when inits upright operative position by its end and side flanges.

This construction would not be possible in a slide made of wood or thelike without so increasing its size as to render it impractical as adesk slide.

Furthermore, the improved slide can be instantly substituted for anordinary slide in a desk already made or in use. i

as a copy sup- Ill I claim 1. A. sheet metal slide for an article offurniture having a guide in which said slide is supported to move in andout said slide comprising a shallow tray, 2. fiat sheet metal coverwhich normally rests upon and extends across the top of said tray withone of its faces forming a horizontal working surface, a hinge disposedtransversely across and sew cured to said tray and having a flat leafextending parallel to and secured r en the opposite face of said coverwith an edge thereof forming a shoulder, and said cover being movableabout said hinge to an upright position in which said shoulder acts as arest, whereby sheets of copy engaging against said second face of saidcover can be supported on said cover by the engagement of their loweredges with said rest.

2. A sheet metal slide for an article of furniture having a guide inwhich said slide is supported to move an and out, said slide comprisinga shallow tray, a flat sheet metal cover which normally rests u on andextends across the top of said tray wit one of its faces forming ahorizontal working surface, a hinge disposed transversely across andsecured to said tray and having a flat leaf extending parallel to andsecured upon the opposite face of said cover with an edge thereofforming a shoulder, said cover being movable about said hinge to anupright position in which said shoulder acts as a rest, whereby sheetsof copy engaging against said second face of said cover can be supportedon said cover by the engagement of their lower edges with said rest, apivot pin extendin through said hinge, coil springs secured a out saidpivot pin with an end of each projecting over said second face of saidcover, and a clip member secured to said ends of said sprin s and whichbears upon and is yieldingly he d by said springs against said sheets onsaid cover to retain them in place.

RALPH F. BULLEN.

